Gifford youth sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatal shooting | Video

Deshaun Marshall, 17, is sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday, June 23, 2017, at the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach. In April, he was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery while in possession of a firearm. Marshall, 15 at the time, and another teen, Cazory Henry, robbed and killed Reginald Davis Jr.
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Deshaun Marshall, 17, quietly sits while being sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday, June 23, 2017, at the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach. In April, he was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery while in possession of a firearm. Marshall, 15 at the time of the crime, and another teen, Cazory Henry, robbed and killed Reginald Davis Jr., who gave them a ride in Gifford. To see more photos, go to TCPalm.com.(Photo11: JEREMIAH WILSON/TCPALM)

VERO BEACH — A 17-year-old Gifford youth must serve 50 years in prison for robbing and fatally shooting a low-level drug dealer in Gifford after the dealer sold a small amount of marijuana to the youth and an accomplice.

Circuit Judge Cynthia L. Cox handed down the sentence Friday to Deshaun Marshall, who was convicted on April 20 of killing Reginald Davis Jr., 22, after Marshall and his accomplice bought marijuana from him.

During the ill-fated drug buy on May 17, 2015, Marshall fired a bullet into Davis’ head from the back seat of Davis’ car after Marshall and the accomplice asked to inspect Davis’ own revolver.

After the shooting, Marshall and Cazory Henry, 19, fled through the Victory Park apartments, but were identified by several residents who saw the fleeing youths discard their shirts in a trash can while holding a gun and a backpack containing the marijuana.

An Indian River County jury convicted Marshall of first-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a deadly weapon. Marshall was 15 years old at the time of the slaying, which occurred in the 4600 block of 39th Avenue.

Cox handed down the sentence in a crowded courtroom Friday after hearing from distraught members of Davis’ family, as well as from the defendant’s mother.

“There are no winners,” Davis’ grandmother, Dorothy Davis Walker, told the judge. “My grandson will never be able to enjoy his family. Reginald was a new father and we never thought he would get caught up in this.

“But we have no animosity. Too many young black boys are dying at the hands of violence. You read in the papers that it’s not getting any better. We all dropped the ball.”

The victim’s mother, Tamera Williams, testified softly: “It’s been a very hard thing to deal with not hearing him. I’ll never get Reggie back.”

Assistant State Attorney Lynn Sloan told Cox that Marshall committed five armed burglaries, threatened to shoot his eighth-grade teacher and stole a toy gun at Walmart even while on probationary programs designed to rehabilitate him.

After being released from a rehab program, “13 days later, he murders Reggie,” Sloan told the judge.

“The State of Florida spent an enormous amount of money trying to rehabilitate Deshaun Marshall,” Sloan said, citing various treatment and counseling programs.

“Rehabilitation didn’t work. He was dangerous then and he is dangerous now,” Sloan said.

Indian River County Sheriff’s Detective Kevin Heinig testified Marshall was dishonest and evasive during the investigation.

“I believe he’s a menace to society and will not stop committing crimes. He has shown zero remorse,” Heinig told the court.

Marshall’s mother, Ashley Phillips, testified she gave birth to Marshall at 15 and described her son as “a good kid” who was on probation mostly for missing appointments with his probation officer because of her car trouble.

But Assistant State Attorney Nikki Robinson asked Phillips if her son’s probationary status stemmed from “four or five armed burglaries?”

“Weren’t you going to juvenile court with him every other week?” Robinson asked.

But Phillips turned to Cox and said: “Your honor, do I have to answer her questions?”

Marshall’s public defender, Ana Gomez-Mallada, told the jury in closing arguments that it was Henry who fired the fatal shot.

Gomez-Mallada asked Cox for a “downward departure” in sentencing because “the part of the teenage brain that affects judgment is not fully developed."